T-Mobile is the first U.S. carrier to support Apple’s new iPhone Handoff feature — and it is attaching a $5 monthly fee to it.
The feature arrived with iOS 27 on September 14th. It lets a customer use the same phone number on two compatible iPhones. Unlock the device you want to use, and the number switches to that phone. Calls, texts, data, and mobile hotspot follow. On eligible plans, T-Mobile says Scam Shield and T-Satellite remain available on the secondary phone as well.
It is not a second line. Both phones cannot use the number at the same time. Apple also notes that some Wallet items — IDs, corporate badges, and certain transit passes — may stay on only one device. Payment cards and car keys can work across both. Pair an Apple Watch with the phone you use most; Handoff does not move the watch automatically. Dual SIM works if both eSIMs are on compatible carriers, and both profiles switch together when you unlock a phone.
Setup lives in Settings under Cellular after iOS 27 is installed. Both phones need the same Apple Account, Messages in iCloud, FaceTime and iMessage signed in, and Wi-Fi during setup. Any iPhone that can run iOS 27 can use it, not just the new iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone Duo. Apple’s support page warns that “carrier fees might apply.” T-Mobile made that fee explicit: $5 a month. A company spokesperson told CNET the charge “reflects the added service that powers the experience on both devices.”
At launch, the only confirmed carriers are T-Mobile in the United States and Deutsche Telekom in Germany. Verizon and the U.K.’s EE are expected later this year. AT&T has not announced support. In Germany, Telekom folds the capability into MultiSIM rather than listing a standalone $5 add-on; that MultiSIM product is typically €6.95 a month and is included on some higher-tier plans.
The timing sits against a year of T-Mobile plan changes. In late June the company began retiring older Simple Choice, ONE, Magenta, and grandfathered Sprint plans and moving customers onto newer Experience plans. Some bills did not change. Others rose by as much as $6 per phone line and $3 per tablet line, with an average adjustment T-Mobile put around $4 per line. Kickback credits on some legacy plans also went away. New Experience plans come with a five-year price guarantee on talk, text, and 5G data — excluding taxes, fees, add-ons, and third-party services. iPhone Handoff is one of those add-ons.
For two-phone households, the pitch is simple: one number, no extra SIM juggling, and a second device that still makes calls and uses data. The catch is just as simple. Apple built the software. T-Mobile is billing for the network piece that makes the number jump. Customers who only want the feature on weekends, travel days, or a work phone will have to decide whether $60 a year is worth the convenience — and whether to wait and see how Verizon prices it when support arrives.
MacDailyNews Take: Convenience comes with a price. Find out more about iPhone Handoff via Apple support here.
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This is key feature. Hoping Att adopts soon. I would buy pro max and duo fir the switching.